Fiddler
] ] Fiddler was a member of the 9th Squad of the Bridgeburners under Sergeant WhiskeyjackGardens of the Moon, Dramatis Personae, UK MMPB p. xii. He carried around a broken, scorched fiddle strapped to his back, which was how he acquired his name. Ganoes Paran considered Fiddler to be only a few years older than himself. Pockmarks from explosive detonations covered Fiddler's hands and face. His armour was a mixture of foreign accoutrements over a threadbare stained uniform. He carried a shortsword in a cracked wooden scabbardGardens of the Moon, Prologue, UK MMPB p.5. He was a professional sapper, and was very good at his role within the 9th Squad. Fiddler was an adept at reading the Deck of Dragons. Mostly he used the Deck in drinking games or in card games were money was on the table. He created new rules for the game every time he dealt the Deck, which guaranteed his winning. Each game started with no rules, and with every card dropped a new rule would be made. In one game where Adjunct Lorn was present, he predicted her demise. She did not know about his powers until he predicted her death, (apparently an Obelisk turned upside down meant she would die very soon). As Fiddler grew older he became reluctant in using the deck of dragons. At a young age, before joining the army, Fiddler and Whiskeyjack abducted the latters half-sister, Dunsparrow from Hood's Temple. Quick Ben thought of Fiddler as having been practically "her uncle"The Bonehunters, Chapter 13, UK MMPB p.640 . Fiddler claimed to have named Braven Tooth after a brawl, in which the Master Sergeant left a tooth in the young soldier's shoulder. In Gardens of the Moon Fiddler and his Commander Whiskeyjack encounter a young Ganoes on the walls of the Old Keep on Malaz Island. It is mentioned that Fiddler leaned beside Whiskeyjack with the ease of long familiarityGardens of the Moon, Prologue, UK MMPB p.5-8. Fiddler said he had been born in an alley in Malaz City and had learned the stone-cutting trade breaking into barrows up on the plain behind Mock's Hold. After their near annhilation under the walls of Pale, the Bridgeburners are sent to Darujhistan to pave the way for Dujeks forces. Hedge and Fiddler mine the streets of Darujhistan as part of the Ninth squad's mission to help conquer the city. In Deadhouse Gates He and Kalam leave the Bridgeburners to take Apsalar home along with Crokus. The two former Bridgeburners have the secondary intention to kill the Empress. He is given a conch shell as a gift by the Tanno Spiritwalker, Kimloc, whose song ultimately leads to the ascension of the Bridgeburners. In House of Chains Fiddler later decided to re-enlist as "Sergeant Strings" in Adjunct Tavore's Army, the 14th, to aid in the attempted retaking of Seven Cities. There he headed the 4th squad, which included Tarr as his corporal, as well as Cuttle, Koryk, Smiles and Bottle. His, Borduke's and Gesler's squads had competing desert scorpions on which they wagered. Strings' squad named their Birdshit scorpion "Joyful Union ". In The Bonehunters He continued his service in the Bonehunters army and took part in the disastrous Last Siege of Y'Ghatan. He and a bunch of others managed to escape the firestorm that went through the city by digging their way through underground ruins. Upon rejoining the Bonehunters, the Adjunct told him to stop the pretense, 'that his name was Fiddler was the worst kept secret in the 14th.' In Malaz City, he played a song for all the fallen that echoed like a dirge throughout the city. In Reaper's Gale He led the 4th squad of marines in the invasion of the Lether empire. His was one of the first squads to reach the capital and among the only ones to come through unscathed. In Dust of Dreams Fiddler reluctantly conducted a reading of the Deck of Dragons that unleashed mass chaos on Letheras and the warrens. He accompanied the Bonehunter army east and survived the battle with the K'Chain Nah'ruk. Noted in this book was the fact that Fiddler as a figure held the entire army together. In The Crippled God Fiddler was made CaptainThe Crippled God, Chapter 4, UK HB p.99 of the surviving marines and heavies of the Bonehunters and was answerable only to the AdjunctThe Crippled God, Chapter 4. UK HB p.110. He lived through the trek across the Glass Desert. Before the final battle for the body of the Crippled God, Fiddler reconciled with Hedge. They both survived the final battle. He plays one of Fisher's songs on a fiddle given to him by Whiskeyjack, Mallet and Trotts, summoning Whiskeyjack's spirit so that Korlat could see him again. In the epilogue, Fiddler went fishing off the docks of Malaz City and talked with a young boy there who dreamt of becoming a soldier. Rather than discouraging the lad, Fiddler wished him luck and revealed the details of his life in retirement: Fiddler had taken up playing music for the surviving veterans at a magically hidden bar across from the Deadhouse. He fished not for food, but to converse with the demon beneath Malaz Harbor. Notes and References Category:Sappers Category:Bridgeburners Category:Males Category:Malazans Category:Falari Category:Bonehunter Category:Captains Category:High House Chains Category:Humans Category:Soldiers de:Fiedler pl:Skrzypek